A Review of A Succubus for Freedom and Other Tales of Obscene Orgies by M. E. Hydra

Time for another collection of stories by one of my favourite authors M.E. Hydra. I reviewed his first collection called A Succubus for Christmas and Other Tales of Devilish Delights here on the Tale. The second collection called A Succubus for Valentine’s Day and Other Tales of Perilous Pleasures I reviewed here on the Tale as well. The third collection called A Succubus for Halloween and Other Tales of Terrifying Temptresses, can be found here. And a review of their full length novel, Succubus Summoning 101, is here on the Tale. This week on the Tale I will be reviewing their latest collection of stories, the fourth, called A Succubus for Freedom and Other Tales of Obscene Orgies.

A Succubus for Freedom and Other Tales of Obscene Orgies by M. E. Hydra

A drummer’s plans to separate his mother from her boring partner go horribly awry when he asks “A Succubus for Freedom”. An arrogant massage parlor reviewer is taught a lesson by a creature of myth in “Naga Massage Review”. In “Come on the Candle”, a student upset over a recent break-up summons a succubus during an arcane rite of cleansing. A young man discovers “What Bad Boys Get For Christmas” after he is abducted by some extremely naughty elves. “Riding the Medusa” details an unorthodox and risky form of recreation for bored soldiers stationed in an adjacent dimension. And finally, a shy man in his thirties finds his virginity and more under threat after he’s “Locked in with a Succubus”.

Prepare to be surprised, shocked and aroused by these and other tales of dark temptresses. They’ll give you pleasures beyond your wildest dreams, and terrors beyond your darkest nightmares . . .

Once again, as in previous reviews of this author’s works, I will be reviewing the individual stories and then the work as a whole:

A Succubus for Freedom – Once again the “gift” that appeared in the story A Succubus for Christmas and A Succubus for Valentine’s Day and A Succubus for Halloween appears to some mortals. A small band comes into possession of the tablet and ask for certain things from it, one of the band asking for freedom. He returns home and has a dream about a Succubus. And then he meets her for real and all hell breaks loose. It really is a story of being careful what you ask for, you might just get it. The story ends on a down note as all of the stories that have to do with the Succubus tablet do, and to be honest I was expecting it so it didn’t come as a surprise when it did. I think that perhaps the underlying theme in this story is one of seeing the truth before it is too late… In this story that doesn’t happen and the consequences are telling. Four of of five pitchforks.

Exile – A man travels in a grey world and remembers something more, something with life, passion and fire. His Succubus that he can no longer touch or feel. It’s very difficult to spoil this story, to me it is obviously who the man is and what his connection to his Succubus is. There is a contrast, and it is a hard, almost violent one, between the memories and the reality. There is more to be told about this man, whomever he is, but we can only really guess and ponder the question he asks in vein. It really is something different from this author, but honestly I think it was one of the most amazing things they have ever written. Five out of five pitchforks.

Guard Duty – A guard is brought in to keep watch over something. He discovers that it isn’t something, but someone, and she’s not human. She’s a Succubus. This is a work that is connected to the series of Don stories by this author, the Don being a mobster that has many, many Succubi working for him. In this case it’s not about the Don, but one of his rivals who is trying to find a way to overcome the Don’s advantage. The story however is only of the guard and the Succubus. I thought it was interesting the questions that were passed between them, and to be honest I would have liked more of that dialog in the story. There are echoes of past works in this one, and I will not spoil them, but it’s very easy to see the connections here. I liked the suspense and the characters, the ending was well done in more than one way. Four out of five pitchforks.

Don’t Fuck the Flowers – Another in the series of H-Space stories which are really the most horror leaning stories that this author writes. A group of soldiers are on patrol and they find an odd grouping of flowers that remind them of something. And that something costs them dearly. More horror than sexy really, and that’s a shame as the idea in this story really is a good one. I think that there should be a little less horror and a bit more sexy in this universe, but it isn’t set up that way really. Three out of five pitchforks.

The Biggest Tits in the World – A group of friends visit a strip club which, they have been told, has a stripper with the biggest tits in the world… and something more that they didn’t expect. Mostly horror with a little bit of sex in it. I will say that there is the barest hint of Succubi in this story, but it’s an aside to the main work itself. Again there are echoes of other stories that the author has written in out of the way strip clubs with secrets… Three out of five pitchforks.

A Night at McHooligans – Three people out on Halloween go into a pub… a very rough pub in a rough neighbourhood, one of them dressed up like a Succubus… really well dressed up. In fact so well that you’d swear her wings and tail were real. The local thugs appear and begin to abuse them. Things go downhill from there… but for whom? This is a wonderful story, I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and at the end I wanted more. Oh, and having a Succubus Liberian? Hydra, you really took something I love and made it wonderful… I really won’t spoil this story any further, but honestly it really is one of my top picks in this collection. I would love to see another Rosa appearance. Five out of five pitchforks. And read this story first. Seriously.

Barbarian vs. Succubus – A warrior triumphs over a king and believes the battle is over and that all of the riches of the kingdom are his… His battle is just beginning in truth. Another in a series of stories pitting a Succubus against various heroes and not so much heroes. The story I expected to go in the direction that other works in this theme have gone, but it doesn’t and actually I liked this story for for that change. More story, more background, more of the world than in previous settings. Well done and a very good read. Four out of five pitchforks.

Onychophoral Dreams (The Soul Worm II) – A soldier tells of his escape from a horror of H-Space… or has he really done so? Overall an interesting story of wishes and dreams being granted in a way that makes one question reality. It is a very deep thing to consider in the midst of all of the horror that surrounds the story. I found myself more interested in the beginning and the end than the part in the middle. Two and a half pitchforks out of five.

Naga Massage Review – A reviewer of massage parlours arrives at an out of the way place and acts poorly. In the end he sees the best girl they have, but the girl is a Naga. I think that the author is starting to have a mini-theme in their works about Naga and similar beings and, honestly, I rather liked the Naga herself. I thought that what happened in the story made perfect sense for the situation as well. Comparing this story to the one in the previous collection, I have to say that I enjoyed the first one a bit more. But I would like to see more of this Naga again. Four out of five pitchforks.

Come on the Candle – A man visits a shop for some mystical help in overcoming his needs. He is given a candle to help him, but finds that the what is helped isn’t him. A Succubus story, albeit s bit different one. I did like how things came together and where the story went from there. The ending was a bit horrific, but not too much so. There are quite a few questions left unanswered,a and they probably will never be, but that makes this work more interesting. Four out of five pitchforks.

What Bad Boys Get for Christmas – A gang attacks Santa and then some of them find a group of girls that seem to be hookers… seem to be being the operative word. And they they discover the real truth about Christmas. Kind of a you reap what you sew kind of story. Some very hot moments in the middle, but that is bookended by some pain in the beginning and horror at the end. To be honest, I didn’t quite see the ending and that was a surprise. Four out of five pitchforks.

Riding the Medusa – it is a bad thing when soldiers are bored. It’s more of a bad thing when they get involved in doing something risky that they do not understand. And there are worse things that some never think about. The last H-Space story in the collection. Not really a horror story which for an H-Space story is something rare. It’s more of a story of two lives, what happened in them, and what the ramifications are. It is odd, as are most of the stores in this universe, but honestly I found this to be the one story that I actually enjoyed. Four and a half pitchforks out of five.

Locked in with a Succubus – A man is sent to visit a woman and discovers that she is, or at least she claims to be, a prostitute. At least that is what she seems to be until she leads him into a room, reveals that she is a Succubus, and then locks them both in the room together… and wants something from him…

This is a story that runs though the collection and acts as sort of an intermission between each of the longer stories. It has my favourite of all of Hydra’s Succubi, Nicole in the story and it was wonderful to see. The thing is… I’m not sure that the chopping up of the story into little vignettes really is the right thing to do. The story itself really is something to consider, but jumping in and out of it hurts it I think. So, personally, I would read this story in long continuous read rather than in pieces… But then I love Nicole and so I am biased to her really.

One thing I need to say, having Nicole say “Heh.” at one point really didn’t sit well for me. Considering her attitude, her seductiveness and what we have seen of her in the past… it just seemed wrong. It’s my opinion I know, but really I don’t see how a Succubus of class would stoop that low in her language. It was nice to see other characters in Nicole’s universe be mentioned, it’s always a good thing to remember the seductive themes of this series most of all… Oh and the massage that Nicole gives is very hot and sexy… And I loved the description she gives of eating her prey like melting ice cream… That is, most definitely, a Nicoleism.

And something else I liked as well… She isn’t perfect, and that is for a logical reason which I thought was well done. Things go a little bit wrong here and there and in that happening we see more of Nicole that we really have ever seen in the past in stories about her.

The thing about erotic moments with Nicole is that they are erotic. I still believe that she deserves her own book, really a series but I won’t be too greedy. She is an almost perfect representation of what I believe is the pinnacle for a Succubus… She has power, she is dangerous, but she is in control of herself and makes choices that are good ones. Not simply evil, though there are hints of that in her, but instead she is a being that made a choice, is holding herself to it, and in doing so, becomes so much more…

In the end, this story makes the collection for me. I would have rather read it all at one time and I really think that if you read this book you should do so. The story is strong, the characters are very real and most importantly, you will find yourself wanting to see where the story goes.

And for me personally, Nicole reminds me a lot of myself in how she seduces and teases those she is with. But it is also that she learns about herself, and them as well, which makes things much more interesting to me.

I understand that the author tends to lean more to the horror aspects of Succubi and other beings. I know that there is a market for that, and I know that he has an audience for that as well. The thing of it is, Nicole really is someone that I want to see in her own story… badly. Darn it all there is so much hidden story to her that I want to know and we only see little tiny pieces of it.

I want the entire Nicole and not the slivers of her. She is, by far, the most interesting, real, seductive, and soulful character in all of this author’s works…

I’d gladly pay for a book about her. Obviously a five out of five pitchforks. More Nicole… please?

Once again, well written, overall there is less horror than in the author’s earlier works, which personally made it much more enjoyable for me to read. While horror is well done by this author, it is when they give themselves into a long, detailed, character driven story that their talents truly shine…

Legion

I doubt that Nichole could ever top the Queen but if the Queen approves then so do I. All these takes sound interesting though I prefer stories that have a touch of horror and not have horror be the main thread. But I will have to look this one up and see how some of the stories read.

Todd

Nice to see this review see the light of day (or night). I purchased this book on the first day and read though it in about 6 hours, then re-read it over the next 2 days. While I agree with you that Nicole is probably the most “interesting and real” Succubus, I really love the stories that star Phil with Rosa and her various sisters.

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